Why Don't You Do Right
Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman and His Orchestra Lyrics
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You let other women make a fool of you
Why don′t you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
You're sittin′ there and wonderin' what it's all about
You ain′t got no money, they will put you out
Why don′t you do right, like some other men do?
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin′ from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
I fell for your jivin′ and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Why don′t you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Like some other men do
These lyrics are from Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman & His Orchestra's hit song "Why Don't You Do Right." The song is directed towards a man who had plenty of money in 1922 but allowed other women to take advantage of him. The woman in the song is frustrated with the situation and demands that the man "do right" and get her some money too. She accuses the man of not understanding what it takes to survive in "this racket," and suggests that he would not be in his current situation if he had prepared himself earlier in life.
The woman's disappointment with the man's behavior is evident in the lyrics. She had fallen for his "jivin'," but now he only has a drink of gin to offer her. The song suggests that the way to success is to be smart and strategic, and to not allow others to take advantage of you. The overall message of the song is to take control of your own life and make sound decisions for your own well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
You had plenty money, 1922
In 1922, you had abundant wealth
You let other women make a fool of you
You allowed other women to take advantage of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Why don't you act properly, like other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Leave and bring me some money as well
You're sittin' there and wonderin' what it's all about
You're sitting and contemplating the situation
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
You have no money, so they will evict you
If you had prepared twenty years ago
If you had planned ahead twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' from door to door
You wouldn't be wandering aimlessly and asking for help
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
I fell for your deceitful words and gave you a place to stay
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Now all you have to give me is a small amount of alcohol
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Why don't you act properly, like other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Leave and bring me some money as well
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Why don't you act properly, like other men do?
Like some other men do
Like many other men do
Writer(s): JOE MCCOY
Contributed by Katherine H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kweejibodali3078
@SteveBowen that is fascinating and well put ; he is leaning so close to her that it can look like like either leering or cadging or grabbing limelight
But I can believe it that he was just so into the music
And was always studying others and therefore improving himself
And no one better than Peggy how she holds the attention
I really am here for her
❤
@miltonmoore8369
HOLY MOSES!
I AM 77 YEARS OLD, AND THIS WAS RECORDED THREE YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN! SO THIS RECORDING IS 80 FREAKING YEARS OLD!😬😳😟
BORN NORMA DOLORES EGSTROM, THE SEVENTH OF EIGHT CHILDREN, IN 1920, OF SCANDINAVIAN IMMIGRANT PARENTS, IN THE TINY TOWN OF JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA, SHE MADE HER FIRST RECORDING IN 1941. SHE DIED AGED 81 IN 2002 FROM COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES AND A HEART ATTACK.
WED FOUR TIMES,
SHE RECORDED OVER 1,100 MASTERS, AND WROTE 240 SONGS,
THE MOST WELL KNOWN BEING THE
LITTLE DITTY: "WE ARE SIAMESE IF YOU PLEASE" FOR THE WALT DISNEY
CLASSIC CARTOON FEATURE, "THE LADY AND THE TRAMP."
TRULY ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST LIGHTS AND MOST RESPECTED PERSONAGES IN THE HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC.
🌠Milton Moore🌠
@coppingtonfarnham7731
I went from 1943, listening to this recently..... to 2022 at a local gas station, where a car stereo was blasting what's not even sung, but popular/horrible now. Like my dad used to say, "I know all the words, but I don't use them."
Imagine what words they'd insert in this nowadays:
You had plenty money, 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
You're sittin' down and wonderin' what it's all about
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be a-wanderin' now from door to door
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
I fell for your jivin' and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a drink of gin
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right, like some other men do?
Like some other men do
@ClassyOldMusic
Thanks for introducing me to that Dave Barbour version. But It seemed like Peggy was getting as bored and sleepy as I was while struggling to get through it. You could see it, Especially in the shots where she's looking over toward Dave, looking like she couldn't wait for him to finish his anemic, lack-of-creative-spark solo bit. I always felt that music after '49 really began to go down the toilet.
By the way, before I forget, The camera work in this film was just above High School kid, amateur, and they mostly focused above her waist, or breast... and it seemed they only had limited movement or positioning of their equpment, or maybe because there wasn't anything worth filming... in fact, there was hardly any movement from Anybody! NO One Even Cracked a Smile, except for Peggy. Maybe because she knew she was getting paid for it anyway. There was no "Swing" or Life to any of this number at all. It's was more like some Bohemian bar scene than a Live Performance.
Look at this "Benny" number, Benny, Peggy, the Band, and the Audience are Swingin' Happy Cats! Any person with Any Life and/or Rhythm is going to have Fun with Benny's number... JUST Look at Benny! He IS the Quintessential Band Leader, Leading the whole Swinging Mess!
Maybe that's why Benny Goodman is known as The KING OF SWING! And, You can see in Peggy's body language and hear it in her voice, that she agrees and is adoring her Fun with Him too.
On a List of Top Ten Big Bands of All Time, where Votes came from Real Swing Loving, Band Knowing, People, Consistently, between the Top 2 Bands, The Benny Goodman Orchestra was #2 after Glenn Miller #1. Consistently.
The Dave Barbour Band isn't on Any List, about Anything, Anywhere.
Look at Dave in the Barbour version, jeeeze! he's not having any fun neither, and his sleepy one note picked off the simple scale guitar playing and solos are tired, droopy, weak, like he's annoyed with the whole project. That huge oversized guitar was way too much guitar for the work he was doing. Way, waaayyy too much tool for the simple job.
Everybody around him looks Grumpy! The Piano Player seemed like the only one with life in him but I felt like he was holding back from what he really wanted to paste onto them 88's. Peggy looks like she's just remembering she forgot to feed the dog before she left the house.
The Benny version, when played off my 78 RPM's lights up the room and the people in it, and makes 'em smile and laugh and say things like "they don't play 'em like that anymore"... I can play it over and over on my 1959 Telefunken Verdi Phonograph/Radio console (awesomely made in W. Germany) forever and people get a Kick out of it...
If I wanted to impress anybody with an old 78 RPM record, and try to Promote the Music of the Golden Era, (like I do!) and to keep it from dying, "Hands Down"! I'd play the Benny version, and No Way At All, for Any reason would I play that boring, Golden Era Killing, Dave Barbour lullabye.
"Get outta here, Give me some money too"
@cant144
"I knew I couldn't sing over them, so I decided to sing under them. The more noise they made the more softly I sang. When they discovered they couldn't hear me, they began to look at me. Then they began to listen. As I sang, I kept thinking, 'softly with feeling.' The noise dropped to a hum; the hum gave way to silence. I had learned how to reach and hold my audience -- softly, with feeling."Peggy Lee
@ruthiebelle1
A really smart girl to figure that out.
@upthedownescalator630
That's better than Hedy Lamarr who found out that "All a girl has to do to be glamours is just stand still and look stupid."
@williamheyman5439
And it was hard for her to look stupid, as she was a co-inventor of spread-spectrum radio, had a patent, and several inventions.
@RobCummings
Prettiest smack-down I ever saw.
@richardbenitez7803
Notice the super soft glance at here and there as if she singing just for you.... very brilliant. Perfect song forever
@kirkpatticalma7911
It almost shocks your ears to hear such a voice. So natural, so organic, and seemingly effortless.
@robertkemp8717
I know. I’ve already watched on repeat about six times. Breathtaking.
@gwynnielsen5081
If I had a choice, I would've been a singer in their era rather than ours. These people had such class.
@MJLeger-yj1ww
Peggy was only about 22 years of age here, and already a solid pro! One of my favorite female singers for all time.